Removable feed storage bin construction



Oct. 29, 1968 4.. E. HARTMAN 3, 5

REMOVABLE FEED STORAGE BIN CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 26, 1966 INVENTOR. J w z. 11 0x441 United States Patent 3,407,551 REMOVABLE FEED STORAGE BIN CONSTRUCTION John E. Hartman, Holland, Mich, assignor, by mesne assignments, to U.S. Industries, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 581,966 6 Claims. (Cl. 52-143) ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE A feed storage bin mounted on vertically oriented legs having feet or anchor elements detachably secured to the bottom extremity thereof, with the anchor elements embedded in a slab of cement whose thickness is directly comparable to the height of the anchor elements themselves, such that the bin may be removable from the embedded anchors at a subsequent time.

This invention relates to bulk feed storage bins, and more particularly to a construction for such bins, which greatly improves and facilitates installation procedures and which also allows for the subsequent removal of the bin when and if this is desired.

Bulk feed storage bins have long been used by those who raise domestic animals and/or poultry. Such bins are now usually made of sheet metal or the like and are for the most part installed out of doors, usually in proximity to a barn or other such outbuilding serving to house the animals or poultry. Feed conveyors and other associated equipment used in modern times for the feeding of animals or poultry usually are installed to communicate directly with the outside bulk bin and the adjacent barn. By using this arrangement, the upper extremities of the bin are relatively unencumbered and freely accessible. Thus, the bin may easily be periodically refilled with feed, while the feed conveyors may automatically transport feed from the bin into the barn or other animal house whenever necessary to feed the creatures therewithin.

Ordinarily, such bulk bins have a large hopper-type bin enclosure mounted on a plurality of generally vertical legs. This construction is often installed by placing it in a desired position and placement and then pouring a slab of cement there-beneath, with the legs thus becoming embedded in the cement and the installation being substantially permanent. However, it often subsequently becomes either desirable or necessary to move a bin from its original position, as for repair or replacement, or to accommodate newly-added facilities. This is not an easy task when the legs are embedded in the cement, for obvious reasons; in fact, without the necessary heavy equipment, a farmer may well actually be unable to move a bin which has been so installed. In order to improve this unsatisfactory situation, it has heretofore been proposed to provide footing structures of the general type encountered in the building construction art, which footings would be embedded in the cement and connectable to the legs of the bulk bin. However, this involves a considerable number of problems, since the bins are large, relatively heavy, and very unwieldy, and it is a diflicult and arduous task to lift such a bin and control it carefully enough to place its legs atop such footings after they are embedded in the cement. Further, the vertically oriented legs of the bulk bins are typically merely heavy sections of angle iron, and consequently it is anything but easy to skid the bin across the earth or across a slab on the ends of such legs while attempting to place it in a desired position.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a bulk bin construction or installation, as that term is used herein, which features a novel anchor structure for attachment to the legs of the bin, which anchor may subsequently be embedded in a supporting base for the bin such as "a slab of cementaceous material or the like.

A further major object of the invention is to provide a bulk bin installation having anchors of the aforesaid type, wherein said anchors have suflicient compressive strength to support the entire bin standing upon its legs, and wherein said anchors have a shoe portion on their bottom extremities such that the entire bin enclosure may be slid about in an upright condition upon the anchors to properly position the bin in a desired location.

A still further major object of the invention is to pro- 'vide a bin installation having anchors of the aforesaid character, wherein said anchors are detachably securable to the bottoms of the legs supporting the bin enclosure, and wherein the anchors have a vertical extent of substantially the same dimension as the thickness of the said slab, such that said anchors may be completely embedded in the slab without embedding the lowermost extremities of the legs therein, and so that the legs may subsequently be detached from the anchors and the bin removed from the anchors and slab if this becomes necessary.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide anchors for a bin installation which have the aforesaid characteristics, and which further comprise a structure having at least one generally void internal space bounded on at least some of its sides by rigid structural extremities, said internal space receiving and being substantially filled by the cementaceous material of which the slab is formed, there-by more securely embedding the anchor in the slab.

The foregoing major objects of the invention and the advantages provided thereby, together with other objects and advantages equally a part thereof, will become increasingly apparent following consideration of the ensuing specification and its appended claims, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying illustrative drawings setting forth a preferred embodi ment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a lateral perspective of the overall bin installation, showing general features thereof;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective view showing a portion of a leg extremity of the bin of FIG. 1 and showing details of the anchor element of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the structure of FIG. 2, showing the same as embedded in the mounting slab of the installation.

Briefly stated, the present invention provides a bulk bin installation which includes a bin enclosure for holding a desired quantity of bulk feed or the like, legs extending downwardly from said enclosure for mounting the same in a generally upright position, anchor elements securable to the bottoms of said legs and extending downwardly therefrom, and a mounting base of at least slightly compacted coherent material, said base positioned beneath the bin and its depending legs and providing a substantially rigid support therefor, with the aforesaid anchor elements embedded in the base material and having a vertical extent suflicient to place the lowermost extremities of the said legs above the top of said base, such that the said legs remain free of the base and do not become embedded therein.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, a bulk bin installation according to the present invention is seen generally in FIG. 1 to comprise a bin enclosure 10 having a plurality of legs 12 extending downwardly from the bin, and a base 14 for supporting the bin, which stands thereupon by its legs 12. The bin 10 is of a typical type having interconnected outer walls forming an enclosure in which ular bin show'nhas a boot construction16 which funnels the bulk feed from the bin downward into a conveyor mechanism 18, by which the feed may be transferred to the feeding area. As will be understood, the boot 16 is formed by converging walls so as to have a shape which is in essence a truncated pyramid.

It is desired to place the legs 12 of the bin installation upon the base 14 for support, while at the same time prevent the bottoms of the legs from being embedded in the base, which is formed of at least slightly compacted coherent material and preferably is a slab of hardened concrete or other such cementaceous substance. For this purpose, anchor elements 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3) are provided for the bottoms of the legs 12.

The anchor elements 20 are a short section of substantially rigid channel-shaped material such as steel, with each anchor thus having a pair of substantially parallel legs or flanges 22 and 24 which are interconnected by a web portion 26. The anchor elements 20 are preferably mounted to the bottom extremity of each of the legs 12 of the bin, with the flanges 22 and 24 of the anchors in horizontal planes and with the web 26 oriented vertically to support the leg 12 and the weight placed thereupon. The anchors are preferably detachably connected to the legs 12, as by a series of bolts 28, which pass through the upper flange 22 of the anchor and through an angle section connector element 30, and nuts 29 which thread upon the bolts 28. One of the mutually perpendicular sides of the connector element 30 thus rests against the end extremity of the leg 12, while the other such connector element side rests atop the flange 22 of the anchor element. The overall shape of the connector element 30 is preferably L-shaped, like the cross-sectional shape of the leg 12, so that the two conform to each other. Also, the leg 12 and connector element 30 may be mutually interconnected, as for example by welding them rigidl together.

As has been stated, the anchor elements are connected to the legs 12 of the bin installation with the legs or flanges 22 and 24 of the anchor elements in a horizontal orientation, and with the web portion 26 of the anchors oriented vertically to support the legs 12 and the weight placed thereupon. The channel-shaped anchors must have sufficient compressive strength to support the bin in this position without additional supporting structure, because the lower flange 24 of the anchor elements serves to provide a shoe portion or skid, on whose generally flat lower face the entire bin may he slid or skidded about to properly position it prior to the forming of the base or slab 14.

The vertical distance between the outer surfaces (i.e.,

top and bottom) of the flanges 22 and 24 of the anchors, as determined by the extent of the web 26, should be substantially exactly the same as the thickness of the base 14, upon which the bin installation is to be mounted. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, with the bin supported upon its legs atop the anchor elements, the base or slab 14 will extend upward from the bottom surface of the lower flange 24 to the top surface of the upper flange 22, but not beyond, so that the connector element 30 does not become embedded inthe material forming the slab or base 14, and neither does the bottom of the leg 12.

Consequently, if it subsequently becomes necessary or desirable to remove the bin and its legs from the base or slab 14, the nuts 29 may be unthreaded from the bolts 28 interconnecting the anchor elements 20 and the connector elements 30, and the entire bin then moved upwardly away from the slab. In this connection, it is to be observed that the heads of the said bolts 28 should be located at the underside of the upper anchor flange 22, such that the bolts become embedded in the slab 14. Thus, they will be immovably held against turning when the nuts 29 are unthreaded from the bolts, and the bolts will also be permanently held in the proper vertical orientation for subsequent remounting of the bin and legs thereupon.

It will further be observed that the preferred channel- CPI shaped configuration for the anchor elements 20 provides a void internal space 32 between the two flanges 22 and 24, which space is bounded on three sides by rigid structural members, i.e., the flanges 22 and 24 and the web 26. When the slab 14 is cast, internal space 32 becomes filled with the cementaceous material of which the base or slab 14 is formed,and this greatly augments the re tentio rt of,

the entire anchor element within the said slab,

As will be .apparent tovthose skilled in the art, the present bin installation with. its unique anchor elements provides a structure which satisfies a long-felt need in the particular industry involved, and provides additional desirable benefits as well, The anchor elements are easily and simply connected to the legs of the bin, and this may readily be done either at the place of manufacture or at the farm where the bin is to be installed, whenever the thickness of the slab 14 becomes known or decided. The anchor elements are readily detachable from the legs, and while attached provide shoe portions or skidding elements by which the entire bin may be slid as a unit upon the ground to place it in the desired position prior to the forming of the slab 14. The anchor element 20 is in itself a simple structure exceedingly easy to manufacture and yet adding to the overall strength of the installation and providing a means for augmenting the retention of the legs relative to the base without actually embedding the legs themselves in the base material. The legs may readily be disconnected from the anchor elements once the latter have been embedded in the base or slab, and the entire bin may then be lifted away from the base, and subsequently reinstalled thereupon after repairs have been made or the like.

It is entirely conceivable that upon examining the foregoing disclosure, those skilled in the art may devise embodiments of the concept involved which differ somewhat from the embodiment shown and described herein, or may make various changes in structural details to the present embodiment. Consequently, all such changed embodiments or variations in structure as utilize the concepts of the invention and clearly incorporate the spirit thereof are to be considered as within the scope of the claims appended herebelow, unless these claims by their language specifically state otherwise.

I claim:-

1. A bulk bin installation, comprising: a bin enclosure for holding a desired quantity of bulk feed or the like; legs extending downwardly from said enclosure for mounting the same in a generally upright position; anchor elements detachably secured to the bottoms of said legs and extending downwardly therefrom; and amounting base of at least slightly compacted coherent material beneath said legs and providing a substantially rigid sunport for said legs and bin enclosure; said anchor elements embedded in said material and having a vertical extent at least equal to the thickness of said base, such that the lowermost extremities of said legs are located above the top of said base and are not embedded therein.

-2. Thebulk bin installation of claim 1, wherein said anchor elements have suflicient compressive strength 'to so position said leg extremities without additional supporting structure, such that said base may be formed about said anchor elements subsequent to the mounting of said legs and bin enclosure thereupon.

3. The bulk bin installation ofclaim 2, wherein at least some of saidanchor elements have a generally flat shoe portion, such that said bin enclosure said legs and said anchor elements may when interconnected he slid as a unit upon the ground or the like before the forming of said base; Y

4. The bulk bin installation of claim 3, wherein said base comprises a slab of pourable"cementaceous material hardened into place about said anchor elements to embed thesame.-

5. The bulk bininstallation of claim 4, wherein'sjaid anchor'elements comprise a structure having at least one generally void-internal space bounded on at least some of its sides by rigid structural members, said internal space receiving and being substantially filled by said cementaceous material when said slab is formed, thereby securely embedding said anchor in said slab.

6. The bulk bin installation of claim 5, wherein said anchor elements comprise a generally channel-shaped member having a pair of substantially parallel leg flanges interconnected by a web portion, each of said anchors being oriented with its leg flanges in a generally horizontal plane and being securable to one of said bin legs by the upper leg flange, such that the lower such leg flange provides a generally fiat shoe upon which said bin may be slid.

References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

0 S. D. BURKE III, Assistant Examiner. 

